• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.232-236
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• 2004

We investigated hydrogen peroxide resistance of Escherichia coli possessing acetyl xylan esterase(AxeA) of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). The induction of AxeA production by isopropyl-$\beta$-thiogalactoside was confirmed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The differences in growth between induced and non-induced E. coli were determined by the changes in optical density of cultures after hydrogen peroxide treatment The lethal effect of hydrogen peroxide was observed for non-induced cultures at all concentrations tested in this study (lmM, 2.5mM and 5mM). However, cultures induced for AxeA production resisted the lethal effect, except at 5mM where cells were killed irrespective of the AxeA production. The axeA induction increased survival against 1.5mM hydrogen peroxide from 59% to 74%. In addition, AxeA producing E. coli showed increased survival at $45^{\circ}C$, near maximum growth temperature. Therefore, it was concluded that AxeA conferred a cross-resistance upon the bacterium against both oxidative- and heat stress.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.171-177
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• 2017

Plant parasitic nematodes, Meloidogyne and Pratylenchus spp., are mostly detected in imported bulbs and tubers including a ginger, Zingiber officinale in Korea by quarantine inspection. However, there is little information on hot water immersion treatment (HWIT) for control of exotic nematodes, which induce economic loss by discard or send back to exporter, in imported gingers. In here, we determined that mortality of two plant parasitic nematodes and thermal stability of ginger. Meloidogyne and Pratylenchus spp. were completely killed at $48^{\circ}C$ and $49^{\circ}C$ for 30 sec by HWIT. Thermal conduction of Z. officinale to reach a target temperature as $50^{\circ}C$ take 10~32 min and 6~16 min for core and inner 5 mm region from surface, respectively. When ginger exposed at $51^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, growth of Z. officinale was not affected by heat treatment compared with control. Based on these results, HWIT at $51^{\circ}C$ for 30 min completely killed artificially infected juveniles of Meloidogyne spp. in Z. officinale. Therefore, this condition for HWIT will be used as fundamental information on phytosanitory to kill two plant parasitic nematodes without damage on ginger.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2016

Climate change has been regarded as one of main factors to change Korean insect pest fauna. Especially, a global warming model predicts to expand habitat for insect pests originated from tropical or subtropical regions. Two insect pests, the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) and the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), are known to overwinter in some greenhouse conditions without diapause induction in Korea. There was a clear difference between these two insects in seasonal occurrence. P. xylostella occurred only at early spring and fall seasons, but did not occur during summer. In contrast, S. exigua maintained their occurrence from late spring to fall seasons. This study set up a hypothesis that the difference in the seasonal occurrence may be resulted from variation in susceptibility to high temperature. To test the hypothesis, heat tolerance was compared between these two insects. Exposure to $42^{\circ}C$ for 40 min killed 100% individuals of P. xylostella larvae. However, most larvae of S. exigua survived in response to $42^{\circ}C$ even for 80 min. Heat tolerance varied among developmental stages in both insects. Highest tolerant stages were $4^{th}$ instar larvae and adults for P. xylostella, but $1^{st}$ instar larvae for S. exigua. Pre-exposure to $37^{\circ}C$ for 30 min significantly increased heat tolerance in both insects. Induction of heat tolerance accompanied with significant increase of glycerol contents in the hemolymph in both insects and up-regulation of three heat shock protein expressions in S. exigua. These results suggest that the differential susceptibility to high temperature explains the disappearance of P. xylostella during summer, at which S. exigua maintains its occurrence.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.201-207
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains as probiotics. Two strains were isolated from healthy chicken cecum and their acid and bile tolerance, residual organic acids, antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria, and immunomodulation activity were measured. Identification of the isolated strains was performed using the API 50CHL system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequencing. The isolates were determined to be Lactobacillus sakei strains. The acid tolerance of strains L2 and L8 was high enough that 75% of the inoculum survived in pH 2 for 2 h. The bile tolerance of both strains was observed at a 1% Oxgall concentration in MRS broth. The production of organic acids (lactic acid and acetic acid) and pH changes during growth were monitored and the maximum concentrations were obtained after 48 h of incubation. Culture supernatants of the two LAB strains showed strong antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria. The heat-killed LAB cells also induced high levels of immune cell proliferation compared with the control, and stimulated IL-6 and TNF-α production in mouse macrophages. Therefore, L. sakei strains L2 and L8 can be considered suitable probiotic bacteria.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.49-57
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• 2016

In this study, a thermal hydrolysis technology was used to treat the poultry carcasses that were killed due to Avian Influenza (AI) occurrence, as well as to determine the possibility of fueling for the resultant products. Experimental results showed that the poultry carcasses were liquefied except for sand, and showed the optimum efficiency at $190^{\circ}C$ and operating time of 60 minutes. It has been shown that liquid products obtained after thermal hydrolysis has good conditions for fuel conversion since it had high carbon contents and calorific value, as well as low ash content. In addition, it was possible to operate the thermal hydrolysis facility by using only the waste heat generated in the combustion without injecting the auxiliary fuel, and the exhaust gas generated in the combustion has a small influence on the atmosphere.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.78-84
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine shifts in the composition of the bacterial population in the intestinal tracts (ITs) of weaning piglets by antibiotic treatment using high-throughput sequencing. Methods: Sixty 28-d-old weaning piglets were randomly divided into two treatment groups. The Control group was treated with a basal diet without antibiotics. The Antibiotic group's basal diet contained colistin sulfate at a concentration of 20 g per ton and bacitracin zinc at a concentration of 40 g per ton. All of the pigs were fed for 28 days. Then, three pigs were killed, and the luminal contents of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon were collected for DNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing. Results: The results showed that the average daily weight gain of the antibiotic group was significantly greater (p<0.05), and the incidence of diarrhea lower (p>0.05), than the control group. A total of 812,607 valid reads were generated. Thirty-eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were found in all of the samples were defined as core OTUs. Twenty-one phyla were identified, and approximately 90% of the classifiable sequences belonged to the phylum Firmicutes. Forty-two classes were identified. Of the 232 genera identified, nine genera were identified as the core gut microbiome because they existed in all of the tracts. The proportion of the nine core bacteria varied at the different tract sites. A heat map was used to understand how the numbers of the abundant genera shifted between the two treatment groups. Conclusion: At different tract sites the relative abundance of gut microbiota was different. Antibiotics could cause shifts in the microorganism composition and affect the composition of gut microbiota in the different tracts of weaning piglets.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.398-405
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• 2002

Bifidobacteria have been previously shown to stimulate the immune functions and cytokine production in macrophages and T-lymphocytes. Accordingly, the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line was used to assess the effects of Bifidobacterium on the proliferation and cytoskeleton reorganization of the cells. Cytokine production after exposure to Bifidobacterium was also monitored in both whole cells and cell-free extracts. When RAW 264.7 cells were cultured for 24 h in the presence of heat-killed Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4, the proliferation of macrophages was slowed down in a dose-dependent manner and cell differentiation was observed by staining with the actin-specific fluorescent dye, rhodamin-conjugated phalloidin. Although EL-4 cells, a T-cell line, stimulated RAW 264.7 cells to produce TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6, the stimulatory activity of B. bifidum BGN4 decreased as the EL-4 cell number increased. When disrupted and fractionated BGN4 was used, the whole cell fraction was more effective than the other fractions for the TNF-${\alpha}$ production. In contrast, the cell-free extract exhibited the highest IL-6 production level among the fractions, which was evident even at a $1{\mu}g/ml$ concentration. The current results demonstrate that Bifidobacterium induced differentiation of the macrophages from the fast proliferative stage and that the cytokine production was differentially induced by the whole cells and cell-free extracts. The in vitro approaches employed herein are expected to be useful in further characterization of the effects of bifidobacteria with regards to gastrointestinal and systemic immunity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.98-105
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• 1999

Intestinal bacteria comprise one-third of the contents of the large intestine in humans. Their interactions with the gastrointestinal immune system induce characteristic immunological responses which stimulate or suppress the host's defense system. RAW 264.7 murine cell line was used as a macrophage model to assess the effects of the exposure to the isolated human intestinal bacteria, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Eubacterium, Streptococcus, and E. coli, on NO (nitric oxide), $H_2O_2$(hydrogen peroxide), and cytokines IL (interleukin)-6 and TNF (tumor necrosis factor)-a production. RAW 264.7 cells were cultured in the presence of heat-killed bacteria for 24 h at concentrations of 0-$50\mu$g/ml. Our results showed that Bacteroides and E. coli stimulated IL-6, TNF-$\alpha$, NO, and $H_2O_2$production at high levels even at $1\mu$g/ml, whereas Bifidobacterium, Eubacterium, and Streptococcus showed a low level of stimulation at $1\mu$g/ml, and a gradual increase as the cell concentration increased up to $50\mu$g/ml. This result suggests that gram-negative Bacteroides and E. coli are better able to stimulate macrophage than gram-positive Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, and Eubacterium. The in vitro approaches employed here should be useful in further characterization of the effects of intestinal bacteria on gastrointestinal and systemic immunity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1198-1205
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• 2016

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have beneficial effects on intestinal health and skin diseases. Lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria, is known to induce the production of several cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8 and affect the intestinal microflora, anti-aging, sepsis, and cholesterol level. In this study, Weissella cibaria was isolated from Indian dairy products, and we examined its immune-enhancing effects. Live and heat-killed W. cibaria did not induce the secretion of immune-related cytokines, whereas LTA isolated from W. cibaria (cLTA) significantly increased the secretion of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner. cLTA increased the phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, and c-Jun N-terminal kinases in THP-1 cells. The secretion of TNF-α and IL-6 was also increased in the cLTA-treated mouse splenocytes. These results suggest that cLTA, but not W. cibaria whole cells, has immune-boosting potential and can be used to treat immunosuppression diseases.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.43-49
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• 2010

Enterococcus faecalis, a gram-positive bacterium, has been implicated in endodontic infections, particularly in chronic apical periodontitis. Proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$), are involved in the pathogenesis of these apical lesions. E. faecalis has been reported to stimulate macrophages to produce TNF-$\alpha$. The present study investigated the mechanisms involved in TNF-$\alpha$ production by a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7 in response to exposure to E. faecalis. Both live and heat-killed E. faecalis induced high levels of gene expression and protein release of TNF-$\alpha$. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of endocytosis, prevented the mRNA up-regulation of TNF-$\alpha$ by E. faecalis. In addition, antioxidant treatment reduced TNF-$\alpha$ production to baseline levels. Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase also significantly attenuated E. faecalis-induced TNF-$\alpha$ expression by RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ and AP-1 in RAW 264.7 cells was also stimulated by E. faecalis. These results suggest that the phagocytic uptake of bacteria is necessary for the induction of TNF-$\alpha$ in E. faecalis-stimulated macrophages, and that the underlying intracellular signaling pathways involve reactive oxygen species, ERK, p38 MAP kinase, NF-${\kappa}B$, and AP-1.